Ebanie Bridges has defended Russell Brand and believes the British comedian ‘deserves a second chance’ amid a raft of sexual allegations made against him.
In the past two weeks, Brand, 48, has faced serious accusations from a series of women. He was accused of one rape and sexual assault when four women made allegations to the Sunday Times and Channel 4’s Dispatches programme.
A slew of further claims later emerged as women told their stories to newspapers and the BBC. At least ten have made public claims so far.
Scotland Yard and Thames Valley Police are investigating the allegations. The comedian has strenuously denied wrongdoing, and says he has evidence to refute allegations. He has called the claims a conspiracy by the ‘mainstream media’.
And Australian boxing beauty Bridges, 35, has claimed that the public is ‘jumping the gun’ despite Brand not yet having his day in court.
Australian boxer Ebanie Bridges has defended British comedian Russell Brand
Brand, 48, has been accused of sexual offences but strongly denies the allegations against him
‘It’s hard for Russell Brand because of his past,’ Bridges, the bantamweight world champion, told bettingsites.co.uk. ‘He’s admitted to sex and drug addiction in the past. He’s admitted to treating women badly in his books and audios.
‘He’s not anymore and he’s changed his life, making the step up from that person he was previously.
‘I feel everyone deserves to have a second chance at life and make themselves better. But unfortunately, sometimes, if you do things in the past, they can come back and bite you.
‘I can’t really judge him, but he should be innocent until proven guilty, always.
‘That’s how society is, sometimes they jump the gun, but hopefully it gets sorted out. It’s kind of like with all the drug testing and boxing, isn’t it? Everyone just jumps on it and they just tear you down.’
In the latest allegation, the Mail has seen police logs claiming that the woman accused him of being a ‘sexual predator’.
She lived near Brand and became friendly with him in 2015, before they each accused the other of harassment.
Police are understood to have looked into her claims previously, and dismissed them. Now officers are re-examining the case.
Last week, Thames Valley Police said it had been contacted by the woman last week ‘with new information in relation to the harassment and stalking allegations’.
Boxing world champion Bridges believes Brand ‘deserves a second chance’
The Australian beauty has built a strong following among boxing fans since moving to the UK
It added: ‘This information is being investigated, as such it would be inappropriate to comment on an ongoing investigation.’
Thames Valley Police covers Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, where Brand – now a self-styled lifestyle and political guru – lives with his family.
He moved to the area in 2015 and bought The Crown pub in nearby village Pishill in 2020.
The pub went ‘into lockdown’ when the allegations emerged, with locals reporting that the venue was sealed by fencing and had security guards inside and out. But Brand was forced to remove the fencing when South Oxfordshire District Council said it was ‘unauthorised’ and launched a planning enforcement investigation.
Brand was contacted for comment.